style: winter basics

For some reason, lately I've been a little obsessed with digging around in Chad's closet every time I'm putting an outfit together. Maybe I'm sick of my own clothes, or maybe this brutal winter has been calling for comfortable, oversized pieces, but either way, my obsession with menswear is getting a little extreme.

I got this Vince scarf on sale at Saks for $40 after Christmas (marked down from $150), and when I first bought it, I wasn't sure if I'd end up getting any use out of it. But sometimes it's pieces like those that you end up using the most -- at first, you throw them on to prove they weren't a waste of money, but as you keep wearing and wearing them, you realize they go with everything. I try to think about cost-per-wear when I'm shopping, and this one is literally in the pennies -- I've worn it to death already.

Annoyingly, some of my Forever 21 pieces that were only $20 or $30 have an exponentially high cost-per-wear, because I've worn them exactly... zero times. Sigh.

The denim-shorts-with-tights look can look a little trashy with the wrong accessories, so I think it's important to counter them with pieces that aren't overtly sexy -- an oversized sweater, chunky wedge boots, nude lipcolor. Actually, I think pretty much anything goes with these boots -- if I weren't afraid of ruining them in the snow, I'd wear them every day for the rest of winter.

Vince scarf, Elizabeth and James boots, Chad's J. Crew sweater, Abercrombie shorts, Betsey Johnson tights, Aqua necklace.